Lawson Announces General Availability of Performance Indicators; Provides Executive Workstations Via Role-, Web-Based Data Marts

Business Wire, July 23, 1998

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 22, 1998--

Shipping 200 Time/Cost-Saving Performance Indicators for CEO, CFO and COO; Pre-Built Business Queries/Answers Tap Algorithms, OLAP and Reporting Tools

Lawson Software, The Global Solutions Company, today announced the general availability of the first three role-based desktops of the LAWSON INSIGHT(R) Performance Indicator Suite, an intelligent data warehouse for executive decision support. Lawson, which introduced the concept in March 1998 and promised delivery this summer, is now shipping LAWSON INSIGHT Performance Indicators for the chief executive officer, chief financial officer and chief operating officer. An additional 27 role-based packages will follow during the next 12-18 months for sales executives, department managers, human resources executives, compensation managers, warehouse managers, directors of materials management, buyers/merchandisers, inventory buyers and more.

LAWSON INSIGHT Performance Indicator Suite is a new packaged data warehouse solution that integrates the enterprise application market's hottest new technologies - data warehousing, on-line analytical processing (OLAP) and the company's trademarked Self-Evident Web technologies - into a sophisticated decision support solution for the executive desktop via the Web or a client/server environment. Incorporating more than 200 performance measurements, LAWSON INSIGHT Performance Indicator Suite is a significant departure from previous decision-support analysis and reporting options available to the high-end and mid-tier market, in that it evolves decision support from a build-it-yourself tool into an out-of-the-box desktop solution.

Specifically, LAWSON INSIGHT Performance Indicator Suite anticipates 80 percent or more of the most commonly asked business questions for each targeted executive role, then uses OLAP and algorithms to program the answers and pre-populate the role-based data marts. The answers are then accessible on the desktop via a personal computer or a browser using Lawson's third-generation Web technology, Self-Evident Applications(TM) (SEA) .

LAWSON INSIGHT Performance Indicator Suite also leverages Lawson's proven multi-tier architecture, including the company's Drill Around product integration capabilities (facilitated by Lawson's active metadata repository), that tap into an intelligent data warehouse populated by information in the LAWSON INSIGHT process suites.

"With the LAWSON INSIGHT Performance Indicator Suite, companies don't have to spend a lot of time and money extracting, cleaning and loading data - it's automatically extracted from the metadata repository to pre-populate the data marts," said Adam Thier, vice president of product marketing for Lawson. "Users also will see significantly reduced time and costs associated with custom report development. If you factor in what a company can save by using the product to make better, more informed business decisions to maximize profit opportunities, it's pretty clear that Lawson customers can gain a fast return on their software investment."

With the addition of Performance Indicators, LAWSON INSIGHT is also the only business management solution that supports key executive value management initiatives such as shareholder value and return on invested capital. The new Lawson product suite was announced in March 1998 as the second line within the LAWSON INSIGHT Business Management System. The first line, known as the LAWSON INSIGHT process suites, incorporates the company's client/server and Web-accessible software solutions for financials, human resources, supply chain and procurement, now implemented in hundreds of companies worldwide. LAWSON INSIGHT Performance Indicator Suite addresses the corporate market's increasing appetite and demand for technology solutions that help organizations gain faster, better control over their operations through timely access to mission-critical data.

"The key management criteria for assessing the performance of the business endeavor are well recognized," said Edward D. Black, director of enterprise business applications at Aberdeen Group, a market research firm in Boston. "The issue to date has been finding efficient ways to isolate and report on these measurements. Lawson has come up with a solid data warehouse and OLAP solution that pulls information from across the enterprise and supports key performance indicator information-on-demand queries as well as complex multidimensional analysis requests. LAWSON INSIGHT Performance Indicator Suite should satisfy any executive looking for a decision support solution that provides value beyond commonly expected line-of-business functionality."

Lawson Software, The Global Solutions Company, is a $200 million provider of self-evident, role-based Web solutions for financials, human resources, procurement and supply chain management. With more than 2,500 mid- to large-sized corporate customers, and sales of its healthcare and retail market solutions growing at 174 percent and 119 percent respectively, Lawson has distinguished itself competitively through a unique blend of feature-rich customer solutions, technology innovation and user-friendly support. The LAWSON INSIGHT(R) line has been acclaimed by technology analysts for its innovative and unique use of leading-edge technologies, like Self-Evident Applications(TM) (SEA) on the Web, and Drill Around(TM) for integrated, cross-application data access.